Ce?itral Parts of Victoria, 



59 



A few miles south-east of Perry's home station, I came 

 upon a stratum of a granitic character, about one chain 

 broad ; and, which is particularly worthy of notice, as it is 

 a species of rock entirely new. The stones on the surface of 

 this stratum are all more or less rounded, and quartz cry- 

 stals are remarkable, forming regular dehexahedrons. 



The whole of Perry's run eastward of the Mclvor gold-fields 

 is of an auriferous character. The stratification, which con- 

 sists of slate alternating with quartzy rock, is almost perpen- 

 dicular, and pursues a gently undulating course, whose 

 general run tends nearly north and south. At Mclvor I 

 observed boulders of dolerite of considerable size, and having 

 a peculiar depression on their summits, extending across the 

 auriferous strata. 



From information which I received through the kindness 

 of Mr. Chauncey, I was enabled to obtain chromium, anti- 

 mony, chlorite slate, and a considerable number of petrifac- 

 tions, on the mountainous ranges to the north of Heathcote. 

 The whole of the strata on these ranges (Mount Ida) consist 

 of quartzy rocks containing rhodicrinites. I am of opinion 

 that it is the Cambrian, and not the upper Silurian formation, 

 which is there represented ; in support of which I refer to 

 the following passage from Lyell : — 



"Below the silurian strata in Great Britain is a vast 

 thickness of stratified rocks, for the most part slaty and de- 

 void of fossils. In some places a few organic remains are 

 detected, but they are usually obscure, and whether the 

 species will prove to be sufficiently distinct to entitle the 

 rocks containing them to rank as an independent group, may 

 be doubted. They attain a thickness of several hundi-ed 

 yards, and are chiefly formed of slaty sandstone and conglo- 

 merate, with brachiopoda and a few zoophytes." 



At the Mie Mle Inn, I met Avith a stratum of slate ; and 

 in attempting to ascertain its degree of cleavage, split it 

 with perfect ease into thicknesses of pasteboard, whence its 

 adaptability to the roofing of houses is at once obvious, and 

 needs no comment. I have also seen it in slates of great 

 size split naturally. 



The Black Ranges consist of a compact globular mass of 

 granite surrounded with slate. Imbedded in this granite is 

 a fine felspathic stone, similar in character to that met with 

 in the dolerite at the Mclvor Grold Fields. 



On certain points of this ridge, covered with sandy alluvial 

 soil, are found specimens of smoky quartz and black tour- 

 maline (schorl) imbedded in haoline or decomposed felspar. 



